What to do when a thought leader leaves your law firm

February 17, 2023

It’s no fun trying to replace a law firm’s in-house superstar. Think of all the countless hours of written-off billable time that the firm’s leaders likely spent mentoring that next partner-to-be, only to let that candidate — and the substantial book of business they initiated and nurtured — slip into the hands of a competitor or solo venture. However, this is precisely a status quo situation that most law firms must navigate, as roughly 36% of law firms reported seeing an increase in associate turnover in 2021 compared to 2020. 

Losing a leading professional hurts, especially if that lawyer or team member left an indelible mark on the firm. But they must still address the potential fallout from the departure, including how it may affect the reputation of its practice groups, team morale and how existing clients interface with the firm. An effective PR strategy — particularly one prepared by an experienced legal PR team — can help bridge these gaps and help the firm move onward and upward. Some considerations on how they can address this is presented below.

Read more »

 
 

Contributor networks and bylined article opportunities: What lawyers and legal professionals need to know

December 2, 2022

There are many ways to secure a byline in a key media outlet. While working with a legal PR agency is a surefire method to get in front of the right editors and reporters, it’s just one pathway to publication. Joining a contributor network can be an alternative way to break in — and your PR agency can help with that too.

Think of a contributor network as a bullpen of subject-matter experts a publication relies on to provide one-time articles or ongoing columns. Outlets usually open their doors to contributor network writers to offer practical, boots-on-the-ground stories and opinion pieces that supplement their staff-written stories. Once accepted into a network, lawyers and professionals usually have broad discretion regarding what they can write about, so long as they meet the outlet’s editorial standards and publishing cadence requirements. 

Read more »

 
 

The legal tech professional’s guide to legal tech podcasts

November 4, 2022

As any legal tech professional knows, staying abreast of the latest developments is critical to be competitive in an ever-changing sector. In another post, we wrote about the blogs and media outlets that cover legal tech. There are also a number of podcasts that also address this sector.  

Legal tech professionals should pull up their podcast app of choice and start browsing through the many offerings out there. Some podcasts focus on leveraging technology to empower and improve law firms, while others are more appropriate for those building a startup or working in-house at a company. 

Regardless of the legal tech podcasts you follow, you are bound to find information that will help you stay in the know and get on the radars of an audience hungry for business opportunities and partners. Here are a few that any legal tech professional should add to their playlist.

Read more »

 
 

Legal public relations: How to get covered by The Wall Street Journal

August 23, 2022

Getting featured or quoted in The Wall Street Journal can be a major coup for any lawyer whose practice intersects with the business world. With its reputation as the standard bearer of news for the financial community, the Journal has established itself as the leading news source for information about the markets, business developments and — most importantly for lawyers — the latest developments in corporate, M&A and securities law. 

Getting that flashy mention in a Journal feature can do wonders for a law firm. For reputation-building, lawyers get to showcase their knowledge on the ins and outs of emerging business and market issues to the global swath of CEOs, board members, broker-dealers, funds and banking institutions that pore over the Journal’s pages every day. 

For online marketing, one or more WSJ backlinks can do wonders for a firm’s SEO rankings, especially for uber-competitive keywords that CPC-centered law firms lurk around. Not to mention the nifty perk of having a Journal hedcut — which, like a Simpsons caricature, is the media world’s way of saying that a professional has arrived. 

Read more »

 
 

Law360: Law firm submissions 101

July 25, 2022

There are more legal rankings and award opportunities than degrees on our summer thermostats.

And while some are legitimate recognitions for your law firm and attorneys, many are money grabs that give way more of an “aWaRdS” vibe — they aren’t worth your time and truly don’t serve to provide a distinction.

Now, we don’t want to come across as too negative. There are many legal awards we highly recommend for clients (Chambers, The Legal 500, Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers are some of our favorites).  

Today we are exploring Law360 awards and rankings, and why we think they are worth the non-billable hours for your firm.

Read more »

 
 

How to edit your law firm’s Wikipedia page: 3 golden rules

May 28, 2022

Just like death and taxes, if you’re a marketer, it’s inevitable that you’ll be asked to edit a Wikipedia page (or worse: create one).

It’s an understandable request given Wikipedia’s prominence on the web. The online encyclopedia continues to dominate search results due to its high-quality, up-to-date content on a vast swath of topics. Its pages are frequently referenced in links from other sites, one of Google’s predominant signals of authority. Google’s addition of snippets and knowledge graphs has further cemented Wikipedia in the top few results for nearly any given search. 

Unfortunately, errors are rampant on the site. Correcting inaccuracies, however, is not a simple matter. Any edits, especially those to business pages, have to follow certain rules in order to pass muster. If you do it wrong, there’s also a good chance you could get blacklisted permanently from the site. 

Read more »

 
 

The Legal 500: Law firm submissions 101

April 4, 2022

We love legal rankings. It’s true.

We love a lot of normal loveable things, like dogs and books and hot coffee. But we may be unique in our affinity for keeping tabs on the best legal rankings in the game and sharing that information with our clients. 

In the past, we’ve chatted in depth about Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers

Today’s star is The Legal 500.

Warm up your coffee ’cause here we go!
(Note: We refreshed this blog post in November 2023 to reflect new insights from The Legal 500 and common questions they hear.)

Read more »

 
 

Super Lawyers: Law firm submissions 101

March 2, 2022

After a brief hiatus to cover all things LinkedIn company pages, we’re returning our focus to our “law firms submissions 101” series, where we review everything you need to know about the top legal rankings and awards programs. 

When we last left our heroes, we had just learned all about Chambers and the nitty-gritty details covering the lengthy submission process, as well as the ins and outs of Best Lawyers.

This month we are investigating (dramatic drum roll pleaseeeee) Super Lawyers!

Read more »

 
 

How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 2 of 2)

February 8, 2022
How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 2 of 2)

This is the second installment in a two-part series focused on improving engagement for company pages on LinkedIn. Click here to read the first part of the series.

By now, you’ve got a solid understanding of LinkedIn’s picky algorithm and you’re laying the groundwork for a robust employee advocacy plan. But if you want to become a true LinkedIn master, you need to understand how to optimize your content on the platform.

Read more »

 
 

How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 1 of 2)

January 6, 2022
How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 1 of 2)

The importance of a strong presence on LinkedIn for law firms can’t be understated. Almost anyone who has a job, is looking for a job, needs to hire someone for a job or is going to school to qualify for a job, is on LinkedIn. The career-oriented social media network boasts more than 774 million members, with over 57 million companies and thousands of job opportunities on every continent — including Antarctica

While LinkedIn is a great place for hiring and job-searching, it’s also a gold mine for law firms and lawyers who are looking to establish themselves as thought leaders and build their brands. According to SalesIntel, LinkedIn is responsible for 80% of all business-to-business (B2B) leads from social media. 

However, organically building a following via a LinkedIn company page isn’t easy. It’s much easier via personal pages, as people want to connect with people, not companies. 

Read more »

 
 

Get INKsights in your inbox

Archives